About one in 11 people in Cache County, Utah, has a disability
In Cache County, 8.9% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 98% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 85% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cache County's score
In Cache County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 44.6. Late payments on loans are the lowest part, at 11.5. About one in four people (25.2%, Q2 2026) has a subprime credit score, a lower share than in 96% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cache County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Cache County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 44.6 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.0% · 2020 to 202461st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.6% · fiscal year 202727th percentile
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- 37.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector11.0% · August 20255th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people179.1 · 202569th percentile
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- 29.5 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.2% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202620th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working18.9% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
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- 17.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.7% · 202419th percentile
- Children below the poverty line7.4% · 20244th percentile
- People with a disability8.9% · 2020 to 20241st percentile
- People without health insurance6.9% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$81,598 · 202417th percentile
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- 11.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind3.5% · August 202518th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind2.8% · August 202511th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score25.2% · second quarter of 20263rd percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Cache County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Cache County, 10.0% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cache County
Utah
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Cache County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 11.8% in 2004 to 15.0% in 2009.
In Cache County, benefit checks' share of income has doubled since 1969, reaching 14.9% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about four times as much as benefit checks
In Cache County, Utah, benefit checks' share of income doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 14.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cache County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 6.9% in 2020 to 5.9% in 2021.
The share of households in Cache County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen to 4.8%
Low on the chart: 4.8% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cache County, Utah.
How Cache County has changed
Cache County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 131,536 in 2019 to 145,487 in 2024.
Cache County's population more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 145,487, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 69,655. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cache County, Utah.
The number of jobs located in Cache County had its largest rise, from 26,776 in 1990 to 33,751 in 1995.
The number of jobs located in Cache County more than doubled from 1990 to 2025, reaching 63,788, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 2005 to 2010, reaching 46,486. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cache County, Utah.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.0% | 2025 3.1% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.5% | 2024 9.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $28,456 | 2024 $81,598 |
The table uses 3.1% for 2025; the score uses 3.2% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Cache County's history
1856
January 5, 1856 (created) April 4, 1857 (organized). Wikipedia
1856
Peter Maughan called by Brigham Young established Maughan's Fort September 15, 1856. Wikipedia
1900
Cache County sheep population burgeoned 10,000 (1880) to 300,000 (1900). Wikipedia
2017
A flood in February 2017 did $4 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 133,154, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
7 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cache County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cache County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cache County, in Utah and Idaho, three score higher. Of the group, Cache County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Bear Lake County gets the largest, at 27.0%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weber County, UT | 32 | 8.9% | 16.5% |
| Rich County, UT | 17 | 8.5% | 16.7% |
| Box Elder County, UT | 15 | 6.8% | 17.3% |
| Cache County, UT | 14 | 9.7% | 14.9% |
| Bear Lake County, ID | 8 | 9.9% | 27.0% |
| Franklin County, ID | 6 | 7.9% | 20.5% |
| Oneida County, ID | 2 | 10.4% | 25.1% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Cache County the poorest county in Utah?
No, Cache County's poverty rate was 9.7% in 2024, 13th highest of 29 in Utah (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is San Juan County, at 19.5%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Cache County ranks 21st of 29 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cache County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Utah State University - Family Life Center - HFC
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Utah Legal Services
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Cache County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.